It’s easy to get lost chasing the dragon of finding the heaviest band out there. Going down the Grindcore/Goregrind rabbit holes for this elusive high. The battery those sounds give the old eardrums brings a rush of endorphins, but they do always stand the test of time as being albums that earn repeated listens for years to come.
It’s easy to forget a time when Metal was just fun. During our countdown of the top albums of 2024, a member of the Ghost Cult staff pondered the question, What happened to bands who just play traditional Metal that are not Power Metall? NITE proves themselves to be such a band on Cult Of The Serpent Sun (Season Of Mist).
This San Francisco-based band found the perfect blend of metallic elements here.
Instead of spandex-clad yodeling, the vocals remain at a lurking rasp, to keep the storytelling in motion. Sonically walking the line between Black Metal and Traditional Metal, this is at times not unlike a sonic space Tribulation once occupied before becoming a goth band.
The snarled vocals root these guys in Black Metal; if someone had their foot on the monitor doing a Dio impression it would be a different ballgame. You can draw comparisons to bands like Angel Witch in this regard. These guys are less thrashy and heading in a more Saxon-like direction.
This band is not content with paying tribute to a bygone era of Metal as they have plenty of catchy riffs, and when you get into the meat of the album, it’s obvious they are great songwriters.
“The Crow” highlights their skills as songwriters as it’s anthemic but darker than what eighties Metal bands were doing during this time. At times this gives things a proto-thrash pumping fist, but finds these guys occupying a needed middle ground when it comes to Traditional Metal. “The Mystic” takes this and goes in a darker direction. It creeps with an impressive groove. “The Last Blade” finds the band showcasing their knack for guitar melodies shining in a manner that is not cheesy, at times recalling Thin Lizzy. If you like guitar solos this album has more than its fair share of them.
Traces of eighties-era Rush creep into “Carry On.” It’s a testament to their songwriting to compare them to Rush’s more commercially viable era. The guitar is very nuanced, and if they said Alex Lifeson was one of their influences, It would only make sense.
These guys have super memorable guitar melodies driving this song which is not something you can say about most Metal these days. This is also the juncture in the album where things lean in a more Rock ‘N Roll direction.
“Tarmut” alludes to the theme of the album, while musically is a shadow rather than the eye of the sun the lyrics reference; its tense groove is hard not to bob your head to and features stellar guitar work.
More juicy guitar solos roll off their fretboard. I typically refrain from using epic as an adjective but some of the guitar harmonies on this album are deserving of it, like those found on the last song.
This album easily earns repeat listens. If you want an album that takes you back to when Metal still had the clean car smell, this album invokes a similar feeling without just reheating leftovers.
Buy the album here:
https://nitemetal.bandcamp.com/album/cult-of-the-serpent-sun
9 / 10
WIL CIFER
http://www.ghostcultmag.com/tag/wil-cifer